Thanksgiving

Come, let's shout praises to God,
raise the roof for the Rock who saved us!
Let's march into his presence singing praises,
lifting the rafters with our hymns!

And why? Because God is the best,
High King over all the gods.
In one hand he holds deep caves and caverns,
in the other hand grasps the high mountains.
He made Ocean--he owns it!
His hands sculpted Earth!

So come, let us worship; bow before him,
on your knees before God, who made us!
Oh yes, he's our God,
and we're the people he pastures, the flock he feeds.

Psalms 95:1-7 (The Message)

The Home with a View

Special bennie's of our new La Maison du Lavande (ok, just trying out some names) aka Lavender Holme...We prayed for a place to call our own. We weren't too specific, but wanted (Kevin) a garage, (me) 3 bedrooms and 2 baths (hey, for what we pay for a home, you need AT LEAST that!), nice neighborhood, and not any further (it does add 10ish minutes to my commute) from school in the lower valley. We really didn't wish for much more, unless it was lots of property, which places us too far away from too many things, and a manageable monthly payment. What we've (esp. Angie) have always loved in homes are - old ones, bricks, wood floors, a fireplace flat on the floor with a mantel, built in storage, old outbuildings, short counters...Some concerns along the way were how much new appliances would cost when we needed to purchase them (we sold our old ones with the last house), close proximity to the parent's, and plenty of parking.

What God found for us - and it was not even on our list - Sold by owner (no realtor fees), owner paid most of the closing costs, appraised significantly more than we paid, owner dropped the selling price, very nice and old neighborhood, easy access to main street, 10 minutes from in-laws, BIG garage, an old outbuilding which will eventually be a pottery studio (por moi), hardwood floors in 2 bedrooms and supposedly under the living room carpet, a lovely fireplace (floor level) with a mantel, 3 bed/2 bath, master suite (converted garage), ANTIQUE very cool headboard and dresser (free from owner), a TRUCK (for Kevin, because we need yet another truck, but he swears this is his dream 4x4 Chevy S-10, and it's even gray like he wanted, canopy included - free from owner), one counter in the kitchen is exactly my height for working, mostly new paint inside, one bathroom is redone, lots of parking, AND appliances included!

Seriously, we saw the ad for an open house one Sunday afternoon, drove by, backed up, went in, saw it once, went back the same day and saw it again, made an offer 2 days later, moved in just about 5 weeks after our offer...Awesome.

Now we have a home with a view. Not necessarily a great view of anything but the homes of neighbors, but a home with a great view of God's heart. He has blessed us with things we didn't even consider (like Tieton irrigation water, instead of city water for outdoor use - $$$$), hardwood floors (which we liked, but hadn't planned to find), an older home (1953), excellent neighborhood, slightly larger than 2 car garage, built in shelves and storage all over, antiques (I have been looking casually for years for something like this headboard). It's overwhelming, to think what God put into this house deal, all in regards to blessing us. Taking care of us. Reminding us of His care. Even down to the appliances and a truck for Kevin.

Drop by sometime and see the great view. It's worth the trust.

purple bug

purple bug season
is nigh.
tiny flies
fuzzy
annoying
numerous.
keep your mouth
closed,
or swallow a few.
shut your eyes
tight,
or squint in and
trap one or two.
can't be outside
or plan for some
friends,
stuck in your hair
or your teeth
or your wear.
alas, no deep breaths
without
facemask or cloth;
the lack of either
means a gag or a cough.
come on freeze,
it's time to deliver.
frigid cold weather
will stop
purple bug season.

Orange is In.

Orange, orange, orange...

Orange is the color. I can't really decide how MUCH more I like orange than red and green, but orange wins hands down. There was this one double knit pant suit my mom made me (think 70's and an orange and white hounds tooth pattern)...I think that may have been pushing it. Ok, it WAS pushing it. But I have always loved orange. I believe I felt pretty hot in that pantsuit! We also lived in Arizona. So think, sweaty, hot, double knit, bright orange and white hounds tooth pantsuit. Enough said.

Fast forward to today, and my precious little grandson shows promising signs of loving orange just like his nana! Ah, delightful boy. Papa and nana took our bundle on his first pumpkin patch visit. He absolutely LOVED the pumpkins and oranges and gourds and squash and bumps and Indian corn colors (tried to eat them, in fact). He was wearing an awesome onsie with orange and some picture. All I can remember is I love orange on him. And all I can do is look at his sweet little grin. Who knows what his shirt said?

Fall is the perfect season. Oranges, reds, yellows, pumpkins, squash, corn, and cool days with fall blue skies and approaching storms. Perfect grandbabies with adorable faces.
And orange.

Ah, Autumn...

Autumn is my favorite, most favorite time of the year! I love the cooling weather and frosty nights (ask any woman in her late 40's and she will most likely love cooling weather).

I love the ~

fall colors, oranges, reds, and yellows

mountains of pumpkins

displays of harvested gourds and squash

yellow straw bales

scarecrows

drifting leaves

pumpkin mazes

frosty breath hanging in the air

fuzzy horses with beginnings of winter coats

diamond covered yards decorated with ice

crisp apples fresh from the trees

bountiful produce, soon to disappear into freezers and pantries

shorter days

drifts of wood smoke from cozy fireplaces

warm jackets and long sleeves

pumpkin scones and pumpkin butter

Thanksgiving around the corner

Christmas a few blocks beyond Thanksgiving

family

the Lord, the gracious provider of all things wonderful

Autumn is just too beautiful for words and images.

All Work and No Play Makes Angie Behind on This Blog

I am no longer in a retirement/unemployed status. And just to let you know, it is seriously cutting into my free time! Things like this blog have suffered...as well as sleep time, hubby time, friend time, shopping time, writing time, stamping time, crafting time...What has increased is my stress level, which shows itself in my jaw and neck, and probably the width of the view (of me) from behind. But the sacrifice is worth every second. That is what I am telling myself when I get up at 5:30 am each day, and head home usually around 6:00 pm at night.

But seriously, God provided a teaching job for me at the 11th hour before the school year began. One week before students, I was hired. It has been a whirlwind of planning, preparing, cleaning, making, searching, talking...and the Superstars are off and running. The last month has hurled me into the world of teaching, from which I had a few years of a hiatus. Well, a break from formal teaching...

Harrah Community Christian School is my place of rest, I mean where I teach. I really wanted my own classroom. God gave me my own building! I did not want to teach higher than 3rd. I am teaching a combo class of 2nd-3rd graders. I've heard horror stories about class sizes between 27-31 in public schools. I have a lovely 12 students. I wanted to be able to share my faith. I am required to teach Bible and pray in class! I missed relationships with colleagues. HCCS has a very small staff of 5 teachers and 4 support personnel. And each one of them is a blessing to me. I think they must be ready to pull out some more hair every time I ask yet another question, but they don't show that to me. :) The coffers were getting pretty empty, dry, and dusty. Now there is a bit of lolly floating around. A bit. And even though my hours are long now, I think it's a part of God's plan to keep my mind occupied while our son serves overseas in a dangerous location...Being very busy keeps me with less time to worry and fret (which is wrong anyway, since God is taking care of it all).

I'd say, things are going great for us. Blessings upon blessings. Now, I just need the strength to keep up! But the Lord will provide.

All in all, I'd say Thanks-for-giving will take on some in-depth meaning this year.

(Photo 1-From the back, my building is the one on the far right; Photo 2-Lovely chapel window; Photo 3-Front view of HCCS)

Something of Which I Am Proud...

Just in case you were wondering, this post is not about my grandbaby, although I am extremely proud of him. :)

Families on Mission, Teaching Your Preschooler to Love, Share, and Care (New Hope Publishers) by Angie Quantrell

Check out this book. It's a great resource for families - filled with ideas for activities, games, and projects. Many of the activities are geared towards families with preschoolers and younger children. I am so excited to offer this book as a resource to families who want to teach their children how to be on mission - how to live their daily lives as an active, loving, giving, sharing testimony about Christ. I hope you will take a moment to check this out this book. It was my pleasure to write it for New Hope Publishers. Let me know what you think. :)

(Notice several other books in the image - the "I Can" Series published by Woman's Missionary Union, also written by yours truly.)

I Can Pray by Angie Quantrell

I Can Give by Angie Quantrell

I Can Do It! by Angie Quantrell

I Can Be More Like Jesus by Angie Quantrell